Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mef‘ûlü fâ‘ilâtü mefâ‘îlü fâ‘ilün

Gelmez ḥamâm nâme-i vuṣlat ḳalur gider
Dilde bu intiẓâr-ı meserret ḳalur gider
Gelmez mi peyk-i müjde-resi vaṣl-ı yâr ‘aceb
Görmez miyiz cemâlini ḥasret ḳalur gider
Her gün miyân-ı bezm-i raḳîbe gider ḳalur
Gelmez kenâre bir şeb o âfet ḳalur gider
Hevd irkyâs-i ser nemek-âlûde câm-ı eşk
Kim dir ki bezm-i tende bu ḥâlet ḳalur gider
Pâ-der-gil-i riyâ ḳalur eşkiyle zâhidân
Gitmez bu varṭada o ḫar elbet ḳalur gider
İtmezse va‘d-i vaṣla vefâ ger o sâde-ruḫ
Mir’ât-ı dilde jeng-i küdûret ḳalur gider
Gelmezse bezme bu gece taḥḳîḳ ‘Âkifâ
Ḫâṭır o şûḫa tâ be-ḳıyâmet ḳalur gider

In English

1. The pigeon does not bring the letter of union, (the letter) stays away for good; this hope of joy stays on in the heart and lingers.

2. Will the courier bringing the good news of union with the beloved not come; shall we not see that face, longing stays and lingers.

3. Every day that charmer goes into the midst of the rival's gathering and stays there; not one night does she come to our side, (this wish) stays and lingers.

4. The first line appears corrupt in the source's transliteration; apart from the phrase "nemek-âlûde câm-ı eşk" (a cup of tears soaked in salt), its meaning could not be safely established. The second line: Who says that in the gathering of the body this state will stay and linger like this.

5. The ascetics remain with their tears, their feet sunk in the mud of hypocrisy; that donkey cannot get out of this bog, he surely stays and lingers.

6. If that beardless youth does not keep his promise of union, the rust of sorrow stays on the mirror of the heart and lingers.

7. Âkif, if that coquette does not come to the gathering tonight, truly the heart stays offended with her until the Day of Judgement.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a ghazal (gazel) of seven couplets written in the muzâri pattern "mef‘ûlü fâ‘ilâtü mefâ‘îlü fâ‘ilün" of aruz (quantitative metre). The redif (refrain word) is "ḳalur gider" (stays and lingers, stays away for good); the rhyme rests on the sound "-et" in the words "vuṣlat, meserret, ḥasret, âfet, ḥâlet, elbet, küdûret, ḳıyâmet". The number is the order of the sample poem in the article by Öntürk and Tunçadam; the poem's number among the ghazals of the divan is not given in the article.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The ghazal rests on the refrain taking on a different meaning in each couplet. "Kalır gider" sometimes says that a letter that has not come will never arrive, sometimes that a hope or longing will go on and on, and sometimes that one stuck in mud will never get out. The letter-carrying pigeon in the first couplet and the courier with good news in the second give concrete form to the news of union that never arrives. The fifth couplet is a sharp example of the criticism of the ascetic common in divan poetry: ascetics who weep for show are likened to a donkey stuck in the mud of hypocrisy. In the sixth couplet the heart is a mirror covered with the rust of sorrow. The idiom "ḫâṭır ḳalmak" in the last couplet means to be offended, to bear a grudge; the poet says that if the beloved does not come, the heart will stay offended with her until the Day of Judgement. The meaning of the first line of the fourth couplet could not be given because it is corruptly read in the source.

Historical Context

To whom and when the ghazal was written is unknown. Öntürk and Tunçadam note that Âkif's poems deal with love, the beloved and separation, and that separation and faithlessness are frequent themes. For the poet's life, see the article Îdîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi.

Bibliography

  • Tolga Öntürk and Özcan Tunçadam, "Amasyalı 'Îdî-zâde Âkif Mustafa ve Divanı", Hikmet-Akademik Edebiyat Dergisi, 6(12), 2020, pp. 259-281 (text: pp. 277-278). https://doi.org/10.28981/hikmet.683811

Online sources